Kantei
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Photographs by the seller at origin.

Silhouette of the blade to scale, aligned at the machi

The piece

Shintō blade of the Echizen Shimosaka school by a smith ranked wazamono. 71.6 cm nagasa, with purple-lacquered koshirae and shirasaya. NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon.

Katana signed “Echizen-jū Hōki no Kami Fujiwara Hirotaka” (越前住伯耆守藤原汎隆). Hirotaka is one of the leading names of the Echizen Shimosaka school and trained under Kanetane, among the most celebrated smiths of the province; the title of Hōki no Kami was granted only to craftsmen of standing. He is further ranked as wazamono, the category of smiths whose blades were tested and certified as especially sharp. Echizen prospered under the Matsudaira, direct kin of the Tokugawa, and drew many Mino smiths — Hirotaka's master among them — known collectively as Echizen Seki: hence the togari, the peaks rising out of the hamon, a Mino-den trait. The blade measures 71.6 cm nagasa with 1.06 cm sori. The photographs show a clean tang, signed on both faces and with a single mekugi-ana, features of an ubu tang; the frames devoted to kizu reveal no flaws. It is supplied with NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon papers, shirasaya and a koshirae with purple saya and gilt tsuba, together with a carrying case and a maintenance kit.

Strong points

  • NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon, with shirasaya and koshirae
  • Hirotaka is ranked wazamono, blades tested for cutting ability
  • Echizen Shimosaka school; pupil of Kanetane
  • Koshirae with purple saya and a well-worked gilt tsuba
  • The photographs show a signature on both faces and a single mekugi-ana: features of an ubu tang
  • Supplied with a carrying case and a maintenance kit

Points to bear in mind

  • The signature carries no date
  • The original seller dates the blade to the early Edo period (1624-1644), while the smith's biography places him in the middle and late seventeenth century
  • The condition of the tang is not stated: it is inferred from the photographs
  • The mounting is neither dated nor its fittings documented

Score

111.2 pointscurrent max. 255

  1. Certificate +50

    NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon paper +50

  2. Tang +20

    Tang intact according to the photographs +20

  3. Declared condition −25

    The original seller declares flaws 0 · small kitae-ware, away from the edge −5 · black rust (kuro-sabi) −20

  4. Signature and date +15

    Signed, with no engraved date +15

  5. Mounting +15

    Modern or replacement mounting +15

  6. Blade +10

    71.6 cm: within the usable range +10

  7. Shirasaya +5

    With a storage shirasaya +5

  8. Price +21.2

    Price: the more affordable, the more points +21.2

The score adds and subtracts points for each feature of the piece and has no ceiling: the highest in the catalogue today is 255. It is computed from the record, not from an opinion. The mounting starts from what is known of its period, adds what vouches for it (its own NBTHK paper, a signed fitting, a crest) and subtracts what has been restored (saya, ito, same, habaki or sageo).

Nagasa
71.6 cm
Sori
1.1 cm
Tang
Intact according to the photographs
Certificate
NBTHK Tokubetsu Hozon
Mounting
Modern mounting
Storage shirasaya
Yes
Period
Shintō (1596-1780)
Dating
Early Edo period (1624–44)
Province
Echizen (Fukui)
Mekugi-ana
1
Condition
Minor flaws declared
Signed
Yes
With an engraved date
No

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